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Azath Tower
The Azath Tower was a battered and leaning, three-storey, stone structure in Letheras. It was located amidst several abandoned Jaghut dwellings in an isolated area between the Old Palace and the Lether River. Vines covered the rounded Jaghut towers, but shriveled up and died when they touched the squat, square Azath tower. A low, crooked wall encircled the Azath House and the lumpy, clay-shot earth and gnarled, stunted trees that surrounded it. A winding flagstone pathway led from the tower's front door to the wall's gateway, which was marked by rough pillars of unmortared stone wrapped in vines and runners.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.152-153Midnight Tides, Chapter 12, US SFBC p.378-379 Many Letherii held that the Azath Tower was the very first true structure of the Azath on that world. Both it and the Jaghut buildings predated even the founding of the First Empire. A wall had once surrounded the entire complex, but it had long since crumbled to dust. A six hundred-year-old Letherii proclamation forbid any attempt to demolish and resettle the area. The grounds of the Azath Tower were the home of the undead child, Kettle. The House's choice to make her Guardian was a sign of its advanced age and faltering power as she was unready for what the role fully entailed.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.155 In Midnight Tides Many thousands of years before the novel's start, Silchas Ruin and Scabandari invaded the Malazan world with their Tiste Andii and Tiste Edur legions. After defeating an army of K'Chain Che'Malle, Scabandari and his Edur turned on their allies. Silchas Ruin was imprisoned within the grounds of the Azath Tower by Scabandari.Midnight Tides, Prologue, US SFBC p.19-24 Shortly afterwards, Menandore and Sukul Ankhadu entombed Sheltatha Lore there as well.Midnight Tides, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.229-230 By the time of 1161 BS, the Azath House was dying and so made a bargain with Silchas Ruin to kill some of the more dangerous inhabitants that the House would free as it approached death in exchange for his freedom. The House did not think that the young Kettle could accomplish the task alone. The five Seregahl began killing the Tower's other prisoners as they struggled to escape and The Pack managed to escape into the city.Midnight Tides, Chapter 14, US SFBC p.425-426 Kettle prolonged the Azath's life as much as possible by killing "bad people" and feeding their bodies into the ground. Once the tower perished she continued feeding the trees that still held their prisoners below the ground.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.155Midnight Tides, Chapter 12, US SFBC p.385 Over time the Hold of Death began to manifest in its place to reassert balance.Midnight Tides, Chapter 20, US SFBC p.602-604Midnight Tides, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.535-537 Masses of ghosts, long denied entrance to the Path of the Dead began crowding around the Tower's grounds.Midnight Tides, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.532-533 Ultimately, the Seregahl perished at the hands of Ruin, the Crimson Guard Avowed, Iron Bars, and Ublala Pung. Then Kettle left the dead House behind to travel with Silchas Ruin.Midnight Tides, Chapter 25 In Reaper's Gale The child Kettle, the tower's guardian, became an Azath seed after its demise, which later led to the creation of Kettle House in the Refugium. In Dust of Dreams After its death, Sinn and Grub entered the Azath House without waking up the wasps nest that resided in the doorway. The house consisted of a main chamber with a fireplace dominating one wall, with two deep cushioned chairs present. Trunks and chests were placed against the other two walls. A tapestry hung on the remaining wall showing a battle between the combined Edur and Andii armies against the K'Chain Che'Malle armies. The upper landing was bare. Beneath a window was slumped a desiccated corpse of a Forkrul Assail. This led Grub to deduce that the Azath had not died, but had actually simply walked out. Known Captives * The Pack * Seregahl * Sheltatha Lore * Silchas Ruin Notes and references de:Azath Turm Category:Azath houses Category:Letheras